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Edward L. Chatfield letters
mssCHT
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Title: Edward L. Chatfield letters
Inclusive Dates: 1843-1919
Bulk Dates: 1860-1865
Collection Number: mssCHT
Creator OR Collector:
Chatfield, Edward L. (Edward Livingston), 1842-1924
Extent:
Approximately 130 pieces in 3 boxes.
Repository:
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.
Manuscripts Department
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2191
Email: reference@huntington.org
URL: http://www.huntington.org
Abstract: The American Civil War letters of Union soldier Edward L. Chatfield.
Language of Material: The records are in English.
Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader
Services.
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material,
nor does it charge fees for such activities.
The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with
the researcher.
[Identification of item], Edward L. Chatfield letters, The Huntington Library, San
Marino, California.
Gift and purchase from Terry M. McCarty and Margaret A. McCarty, December 2015. Letters were found in room of Edaline Chatfield
Rhea (only daughter of Edward L. Chatfield) after her death in 1964.
The majority of Chatfield’s letters have been published in The Chatfield story: Civil War letters and diaries of Private
Edward L. Chatfield of the 113th Illinois volunteers by Terry M. McCarty and Margaret Ann Chatfield McCarty, North Charleston:
CreateSpace Pub., 2010. These published versions of the transcripts were censored for Chatfields’ use of racial slurs but
the transcripts available online and accompanying the original letters were not censored. See www.chatfieldstory.com
The diaries of Edward L. Chatfield are held in Littleton Historical Museum, Littleton, Colorado.
Edward Livingston Chatfield was born to Nathan Chatfield and Margaret Chatfield in Middleton, Ohio, in 1842. He was the eldest
of seven children: David A. Chatfield (1845-1864); William Chatfield (1847-1925); Isaac Newton Chatfield (1849-1926); James
Chatfield (1851-1919); Charles Chatfield (1855-1891); and Mary Chatfield (1859-1925). In 1860 the family moved to Kankakee,
Illinois, where Nathan Chatfield had purchased a large farm. Edward Chatfield enlisted in August 1862 and was sent to Camp
Hancock in Chicago. In October 1862, Chatfield was mustered into Company “B” of the 113th Illinois Infantry. They were ordered
to Cairo, Illinois, November 6, 1862. During his time in the army, Chatfield traveled through and saw action in the Western
Theater of the war including Memphis, Holly Springs, Chicasaw Bayou, Vicksburg, Corinth and others. Chatfield was taken prisoner
in June 1864 and was sent to Andersonville prison. He was later sent to the prison at Camp Lawton and the Florence Stockade.
Chatfield escaped while being transported on February 21st. He arrived in Annapolis, Maryland in early March and by early
April he was with his Grandmother in Ohio. Chatfield was mustered out June 20, 1865 in Memphis.
In 1874, Edward Chatfield traveled to Colorado to purchase land but moved back to Kankakee. In 1877 he married Anna E. Bates,
a family friend from Hartford, Ohio. In 1879 Chatfield and his wife moved to Littleton, Colorado. Their only child would be
born in 1883: Edaline Chatfield. Edward Chatfield became a farmer, rancher and businessman. Many of his family members would
follow him out to Colorado. After the death of his wife, Edward’s health declined and he moved to Long Beach, California,
in 1917, to live with his daughter and son-in-law, Edaline and Bernie Rhea. He died there in 1924, at the age of 82.
The collection is arranged chronologically.
Approximately 110 letters written by Edward L. Chatfield during his time fighting with the American Army in the Western Theater
of the Ameican Civil War war and after his escape from prison. Letters are very detailed in nature and Chatfield talks about
the army camps, conditions, his fellow soldiers, fighting, etc. There are several letters written by his father, mother, and
brothers. There are also several poems written by Chatfield and a sketch he did of Henry Wirz. Each letter is accompanied
by a full transcript (completed by the donors).
There is also a 40-page mimeograph of an unpublished work written by Chatfield's friend and fellow soldier in Company B, Riley
Beach ("Recollections and Diary Extracts" dated 1919). Also included is a quantity of accompanying documents and photographs
and a DVD with high-resolution scans of all letters and surviving envelopes.
Some of the letters are written on patriotic stationery (noted in finding aid and on folder).
Chatfield, Edward L. (Edward Livingston), 1842-1924 -- Correspondence
Wirz, Henry, 1823?-1865
Andersonville Prison -- Personal narratives
United States. Army. Illinois Infantry Regiment, 113th (1862-1865)
United States. Army -- Military life -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Sources
Soldiers -- United States -- Correspondence
Mississippi River Valley -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Campaigns
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Personal narratives
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Prisoners and prisons
Vicksburg (Miss.) -- History -- Siege, 1863
Diaries -- United States -- 19th century
Letters (correspondence) -- United States -- 19th century